Out of my journal: New Father; The first shots have been fired

The first shots of the baby war have been fired.
Maybe I’m being over-dramatic, but it really feels like a war. Aiden is now at a stage where he is pulling himself up so that he can stand. Certain things are fine and stable enough for himself to lean against, the beds, the couches and, of course, his parents. Now the war part is trying to stop him from pulling himself up against dangerous things, like the stove or to stop him from pulling everything from the tables and shelves where he can reach.
So far, it has been more of a cold war, we have been able to keep relatively safe from harm with the exception of the few times he just had to stick his head into the dustbin.
But recently, the first real shots were fired when he finally pulled down an object that landed on his head. Mornings are the most difficult times because both my wife and I are in ‘getting-ready-for…’ mode. So, between the showers, teeth brushing and then, for my wife, the added ritual of painting the face and blow-drying the hair, Aiden almost has a free reign in the house. Usually, he sits still, happy to play with his toys.
While I am in the shower I hear a panic-stricken scream from my wife. I storm out of the shower, naked and dripping wet, almost slipping on the tiles as I run to the room. Aiden is screaming, my wife has picked him up, with half of her hair dry and the other half still wet, trying to calm him down. Standing there in my birthday suit, I try to play down the situation after my wife explains what has just happened.
“He probably just got more of fright than anything else,” I say.
He turns his little tear-stained face towards me and that’s when I see it. It seems to grow bigger the longer I look. Like a little rhino horn growing on his face, it only takes a few minutes for him to calm down. Although I feel sorry for him, I hope he has learned a lesson from this experience.